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New principal tapped for Plainville High

by mchaiken • November 9, 2018 • Comments Off on New principal tapped for Plainville High

By TAYLOR MURCHISON-GALLAGHER

STAFF WRITER

Carl Johnson has been appointed as the newest principal of Plainville High School, so voted by the Plainville Board of Education in their meeting on Thursday, Oct. 25.

Johnson’s official first day was Thursday, Nov. 1. He explained that former principal, Roberto Medic, has accepted a position in the Avon school district, where he will now serve as the director of human resources for its BOE.

Before being named principal, Johnson has served as one of the assistant principals since the fall of 2016. He had taken the position, which was vacated by Rosa Perez, who now serves as the Plainville Community Schools curriculum director.

Previously, Johnson taught history for 12 years at Farmington High School.

He said his first day as principal “went great,” and that “it’s exciting.”

“I’m incredibly humbled and honored that I would be given the trust of this community to run their high school… it’s a daunting responsibility, but, it’s something that I’m excited about, something I feel confident in, and I think most importantly, it’s something I want to do,” said Johnson. “Like I tell everyone, this is a great place, it’s what I believe is one of the best high schools in Connecticut, I think it’s one of the best places for kids to go to school in Connecticut, I think it’s one of the best places for teachers to teach in Connecticut, to practice their craft.”

And because Johnson was part of the previous administrative team, he believes a large part of this transition will be “maintaining consistency,” “since we feel like we’re headed in a very good direction as a school.”

Johnson’s appointment comes on the heels on the New England Association of Schools and Colleges, NEASC, collaborative conference, part of the decennial re-evaluation process.

There were two main areas the NEASC team identified as places where improvements could be made; the vision of the graduate, and tier two interventions.

Johnson explained that the vision of the graduate is “a school district… being very transparent and open… to their community about what we expect our graduates to be able to do and know when they leave high school.”

Johnson then explained that a tier one intervention is something that will have an impact on every student, such as their school-wide forums, and that tier three intervention is the highest level. Tier three, he explained, “is when you get to special education, 504 plans… much more intensive level of intervention.” Tier two would fall somewhere in between, such as requiring a math or English tutor, as an example.

“I just think the biggest thing I want to get across is, in two years how much I’ve come to appreciate this place, love this place, really see it as a home, how much I care about this school, how excited I am to be able to be in this position,” said Johnson. “I really want to get people in the mentality of this is a special place and we need to continue on that path, and we need to treat it as such, and understand that this is a unique place to go to high school.”